Jena Bishop

Jena Bishop is a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt under JW Wright being also one of the most important female competitors of her generation. With an array of accomplishments in the International Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) circuit, including World, World Masters, Pan American and European Open champion, Bishop is widely regarded as one of the most accomplished grapplers ever produced by the state of Missouri – USA, reiterating in the process the strength of Gracie Humaitá‘s female team in this sport. Jena is also married to another jiu jitsu black belt and popular grappling sports commentator Tyler Bishop.

Jena Bishop Biography

Jena Rae Bishop was born on February 22, 1986 in St. Charles (Missouri), United States of America.

Throughout high school Jena ran track and field for her school as well as cross country – though she thrived in the sprinting distances. It wasn’t until Jena’s 21st birthday that she started training jiu jitsu, influenced by her (then) boyfriend Tyler Bishop. Tyler was a white belt at the time, and the couple’s relationship grew in parallel with their love for BJJ, eventually being join in matrimony by the time they reached the blue belt rank.

Jena dwelled with the prospect of following a path in mixed martial arts (MMA) early in her combat sports career, going on to train Thai boxing, judo as well as wrestling before she placed all her focus towards jiu jitsu.

Throughout her rise to black belt Jena’s instruction was led by JW Wright, a well respected coach and a former pupil of Royler Gracie. Bishop trained with Wright in St. Louis, MO from white to black belt – a process that took nearly 10 years, while feeding knowledge from different sources including that of her husband Tyler who was a big part of her development in the sport.

Bishop was promoted to black belt on July 13, 2013 – not long after she conquered her first world title (brown belt). Having spent years representing Missourian jiu jitsu, in 2016 Jena and Tyler Bishop decided to move to San Diego – California, to be closer to one of the busiest BJJ hubs in the world and reap the benefits it could provide. Being in The Golden State also allowed Bishop to work with one of the best coaches in the world (Regis Lebre) with good competitive results soon flowing from this wise career move.